Viking pre-empts Ichikawa’s Hunchback

Viking has pre-empted Saou Ichikawa’s award-winning debut, Hunchback, about a disabled woman who asks her male carer to be a sperm donor.

Edward Kirke, editor, acquired world English rights from Li Kangqin at New River Agency on behalf of Kohei Hattori at The English Agency and Bungeishunju.

The pre-emptive deal is Kirke’s first acquisition for Viking since joining the imprint earlier this year. David Ebershoff at Hogarth Press subsequently acquired North American rights, also in a pre-empt. Viking will publish in trade paperback, e-book and audiobook in 2025.

Hunchback is described by Viking as “a provocative and darkly hilarious portrayal” of a woman born with a congenital muscle disorder and confined to an electric wheelchair, who one day asks her new male carer to be her sperm donor in exchange for a vast sum of money.

Viking added: “It was awarded the 2023 Akutagawa Prize, the first novel by a disabled author to win Japan’s most prestigious literary award, sparking a great deal of public conversation about disability, sexuality and privilege.”

Ichikawa graduated from the School of Human Sciences, Waseda University. Hunchback, her debut, is a bestseller in Japan and won the 128th Bungakukai Prize for New Writers and the 169th Akutagawa Prize. She has congenital myopathy and lives in Kanagawa prefecture, Japan.

Ichikawa said: “This novel was inspired by and born from the English word ‘Hunchback’. I’m incredibly happy to now be able to share this tale of a modern-day hunchback with English-language readers.”

Kirke said: “I adore this novel – wry, intelligent, bitter, fresh and very funny. From its formal boldness, to its daring, skilful depiction of disabled bodies and the power of its razor sharp narrative voice, this is one of the best Japanese novels I’ve read in a long time. It is an important book that Viking is proud to publish.”